One of Georgia’s leading industrialists, Dr. Pantiko Tordia, is Chairman of Tbilisi Aerospace Manufacturing, the nation’s huge aircraft and industrial design and manufacturing company

Georgia’s leading exporter, Tbilisi Aerospace Manufacturing Company (TAM), a creation of 20th Soviet history, has been reborn over the past four years into a model for 21st Century post-communist commerce.

The 2800 employee jet plane design, manufacturing and assembly plant, on the outskirts of Tbilisi, is largely the brainchild of one man, Dr. Pantiko Tordio, CEO and Board Chairman.

Operating now with two basic products, manufacture of a highly versatile jet attack aircraft and the overhaul and modernization of other jets, the company currently brings in more foreign revenue than any other Georgian firm.

The plane, the SU-25KM “Scorpion (see box), is a close attack aircraft, similar to the American A10 military jet. It is very fast, designed for close-in air support and has operated very successfully in Afghanistan, Iran-Iraq, Chechnya and has been sold to the defense ministries of many governments.

For the future TAM has a business plan that calls for diversification, privatization and rapid growth in the next few years. Several international investors have indicated interest in participation, but the company is still seeking the right partners.

Building on one of the largest and most successful Soviet defense facilities, which fell on very difficult times with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Dr. Tordio and his associates have created a manufacturing program that could be a model for other Georgian enterprises and which has the full support of the government in its efforts to privatize by selling shares of stock to foreign partners.

“At the present moment, the Georgian government still owns 100 percent of the shares of the company, but our privatization process is underway and we hope to complete it withing the next few months. This will result in minority percentage in the hands of the Georgian government and with control in the hands of the private partnership,” explains Dr Tordia.

The business plan envisions a shifting from an exclusive focus on aircraft manufacturing to a 60 percent focus on such product lines and the rest on small size hydroelectric power stations, heating systems and other heavy industrial products But to fulfill this new direction, outside funds are required. Dr. Tordia outlined the current picture, “This plant represents a high level of new technology. Four years ago, when I came here in 1998, the plant was in terrible shape, no water, no electricity and a debt of more than $12 million dollars. Today we are rebuilding, establishing new offices, fully computerized working conditions and state-of-the art equipment. We have completely turned around the financial picture and contributed more than $13 million to the state budget last year.”

Up to the present the company has secured all of its financing directly through bank-loans, a substantial sum which has been paid back through the sale of airplanes. Discussing company income, Dr. Tordia says, “Our revenue currently comes from the sale of planes to a variety of countries. We have sold eleven and have eight more in the process of being delivered. We also gain significant revenue through our business over overhauling older jets and from our new work in designing hydroelectric power stations. Although that is just 5 percent of our business now, I see it climbing to 40 percent eventually.”

“I am very proud that we have developed a full quality assurance program and have received the ISO 9001 certification, which signifies full compliance with world standards for high level manufacturing. Our people are constantly undergoing training of all sorts, particularly in computers and networking,” adds the TAM CEO.

Pantiko Tordia has spent nearly a full career in aircraft manufacturing, with time-out to help the new Georgian get started with its defense procurement process in the early 1990’s. A trusted advisor to President Shevardnadze, Dr. Tordia is leading the effort to take Tbilisi Aerospace into the ranks of Georgia’s best private industries. If the past few years can be a guide this company has an extremely bright future.